Blind Firing The M203 in AA

Introduction

While playing on the bridge map, a lot of people ask me what I'm shooting at with the M203. I seem to be blindly shooting in the fog, hoping to hit something.

Not so.

With proper practice, an M203 gunner can identify certain reference points on the map, and know where the rounds land.

Is this cheating? Maybe. Everyone has their opinion on this, This is how I rationalize it: in real life, the soldiers are given maps and compasses. The real M203 gunner knows the capabilities of his weapon, and the range it covers. Ergo, with a compass and map, the real M203 gunner will be able to use indirect fire on a target, much like regular artillery.

Whatever your belief, my point is simply to show you how it is done.

Example Setup

Step 1

Start up Army Operations

Open the bridge map ("open bridge.aao")

Enable movement ("playerlock 0")

Change class to M203 ("mpcheat changeclass g")

Disable fog ("show fog"). This is simply for training purposes.

Move to the assault side.

Move to the last tree near the cliff edge on the right.

Crouch, and line up your reticle on the center of the tree.

Move so that the tree is lined up with the center arch. Note that you have to look down a bit to see the arch properly. The fogging is less around the screen edges. Note also that you can simply look at the compass and be a little left of NE.

This is what it should look like:

Step 2

Move up to the tree until it perfectly masks the center arch.

This is what it should look like:

Step 3

Turn towards the defense side. You should notice the lowest branch. This is your reference point.

Put your reticle on the lowest branch, a little below the first knot. If you fire, the round should fall near the center window of the defense building.

Note that this is essentially an approximation, and is not very useful, unless you wish to splash damage the defenders in front of the defense tower. Also, the tree will no longer be aligned with the center arch. This is normal and is due to the engine's handling of perspective.

This is what it should look like:

Step 4

Keeping the same elevation, turn until you are facing a little past the first compass point to the right of Objective A. If you fire, the round should fall on the defense tower stairs.

Note that this is also essentially an approximation. However, it is much more useful, as splash damage from hitting either the stairs or the side of the building will hit the defenders there.

This is what it should look like:

Conclusion

Proper preparation with the M203 will make it an effective weapon, even on a map with limited visibility such as the bridge.